International: United Kingdom
Landmark lawsuit challenges Britain’s climate change adaptation plan
26 Jul 2024
In a landmark climate case, Friends of the Earth and two people whose lives have been severely affected by the changing climate are suing the government of the United Kingdom over its failure to safeguard people, property and infrastructure against foreseeable effects of the climate crisis.
UK first European country to approve lab-grown meat, starting with pet food
22 Jul 2024
Lab-grown pet food is to hit UK shelves as Britain becomes the first country in Europe to approve cultivated meat.
UK supermarkets to trial methane-reducing feed supplement for dairy cows
19 Jul 2024
UK supermarket chain Tesco has announced it will trial a methane-reducing feed supplement for dairy cows as part of an initiative to cut its carbon footprint.
From green energy to rivers, environment at heart of nine plans in King’s speech
19 Jul 2024
The UK's new Labour government recognises the ‘urgency of climate challenge’ but also presents measures as way to also cut the cost of living.
Preparing London for climate impacts is ‘non-negotiable,’ landmark review warns
18 Jul 2024
The government has been warned that preparing London for climate change is “non-negotiable” as a landmark review of the capital’s climate resilience is published.
New UK govt lifts ‘absurd’ ban on onshore windfarms
10 Jul 2024
The de facto ban on new onshore windfarms has been dropped by the Labour government, to the delight of environmentalists and energy experts.
‘Our work is urgent’: Will the UK’s new Labour government prioritise the climate crisis?
8 Jul 2024
Campaigners and experts say support for environmental policies in the UK general election means Labour must now make climate action a top priority.
The Guardian view on Britain’s green future: where was the debate?
5 Jul 2024
OPINION: The climate emergency should have been a more prominent theme during an underwhelming election campaign.
Key oil project must count full climate impact - court
24 Jun 2024
The Supreme Court has ruled a local council should have considered the full climate impact of burning oil from new wells - a landmark decision which could put future UK oil and gas projects in question.
The Tory network of climate denial and fossil fuel funding
14 Jun 2024
DeSmog catalogues how oil and gas firms have forged ties with the highest levels of government in the UK, as well as with the media and influential think tanks.
UK climate aid reaches record £1.8bn in 2023 after loosening rules
10 Jun 2024
The UK government’s spending on climate aid reached its highest-ever level last year, with more than £1.8bn channelled into projects aimed at cutting emissions.
UK won’t cook the books to hit its climate goals
23 May 2024
Announcement on next carbon budget comes after weeks of speculation the government would try and find more ‘headroom.’
BP and Shell ‘shaped’ UK carbon tax proposals, private emails show
13 May 2024
Internal documents expose how oil and gas majors were given the chance to influence a report by the Policy Exchange think tank.
UK's new climate action plan unlawful due to delivery risk
6 May 2024
Britain's latest climate action plan is unlawful because ministers were not told of the risk that key policies could not be delivered, London's High Court ruled.
Liz Truss book calls for climate laws to be abolished and boasts of effort to cancel UK COP summit
23 Apr 2024
The former UK prime minister attacks flagship climate deals and makes false claims about electric vehicles, Russia’s influence on energy policies, and net zero.
Food security threatened by extreme flooding, farmers warn
16 Apr 2024
The flooding and extreme weather linked to climate change will undermine UK food production unless farmers get more help, according to the National Farmers Union.
UK Government faces High Court challenge over ‘inadequate’ climate protection plans
16 Apr 2024
The case has been brought by an activist who lost his house to coastal erosion, a disability campaigner and Friends of the Earth.
UK emissions in 2023 fell to lowest level since 1879
13 Mar 2024
The UK’s greenhouse gas emissions fell by 5.7% in 2023 to their lowest level since 1879, according to new Carbon Brief analysis.
Rewilding Ireland: ‘Undoing the damage’ from a history of deforestation
4 Mar 2024
Eoghan Daltun has spent the past 14 years successfully rewilding 29 hectares (73 acres) of farmland on the Beara Peninsula in southwestern Ireland.
UK quits treaty that lets oil firms sue government
26 Feb 2024
The UK has withdrawn from an international treaty that lets fossil-fuel companies sue governments pursuing climate policies for billions in compensation for lost profits.
Rishi Sunak hits back at criticism of fleeting COP28 visit
5 Dec 2023
UK prime minister rejects suggestion half-day stay shows lack of ‘seriousness.’ Rishi Sunak defended his decision to only attend COP28 for a half a day, saying it would be wrong to “measure our impact here by hours spent.”
Green growth or degrowth: what is the right way to tackle climate change?
27 Nov 2023
Nearly all the world’s governments and vast numbers of its people are convinced that addressing human-induced climate change is essential if healthy societies are to survive.
UK manufacturers call for EU-aligned carbon border tax
14 Nov 2023
A new poll of UK businesses has found that almost three-quarters would support the introduction of a carbon border adjustment mechanism that mirrors the one coming into force across Europe.
UK watering down net zero policies 'will lead to rising deaths from global heating'
10 Nov 2023
The ‘watering down’ of net zero policies ‘will ensure that the number of deaths due to the impact of global heating on the UK population will keep on rising’, says climate scientist Bill McGuire.
Greta Thunberg at protest demanding oil chiefs pull their money out of politics
18 Oct 2023
Arrests have been made as protesters disrupted a conference at the InterContinental Hotel in central London where oil company CEOs are meeting.
Emissions from UK residents and businesses rose by 2% in 2022, figures suggest
11 Oct 2023
Residence-based emissions stood at 512 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2022 , according to Office for National Statistics provisional data.
Attacks on net zero at UK Conservative Party conference alarm green-leaning MPs
9 Oct 2023
Green credentials used to be considered a vote-winner but rhetoric around net zero has changed.
UK industry risks falling foul of EU’s new carbon tax
4 Oct 2023
British businesses selling into the European Union are unprepared for the bloc’s new carbon tax and run the risk of penalties if they are not compliant, a leading advisory firm has warned.
Shell CEO under pressure from within on renewables shift
29 Sep 2023
Shell's CEO Wael Sawan has come under pressure over his strategy from within the energy company after two employees issued a rare open letter urging him not to scale back investments in renewable energy, sparking an internal debate.
UK greenlights North Sea oil and gas field amid climate scrutiny
28 Sep 2023
The UK has given the green-light to Rosebank, the country’s biggest untapped oil field, amid increasing scrutiny of the country’s climate credentials.
British Prime Minister likely to face legal challenges over net zero U-turn
25 Sep 2023
Rishi Sunak is likely to face a series of legal challenges aimed at thwarting his plans to U-turn on net zero policies amid further international condemnation of the proposals.
UK launches climate change programme targeting over 4 million Nigerians
8 Aug 2023
The United Kingdom has announced the launch of its programme, Propcom+, supporting climate and growth by addressing environmental, social, and economic challenges in Nigeria’s food and land-use system.
UK's North Sea move shows tensions between energy security, climate
3 Aug 2023
The United Kingdom now finds itself at the epicenter of global tensions between energy security and lofty climate goals, which are playing out ahead of the COP28 conference in Dubai.
Britain commits to hundreds of North Sea oil and gas licences
1 Aug 2023
Britain commits to granting hundreds of licences for North Sea oil and gas extraction, drawing criticism from environmental campaigners.
Britain overhauling planning to meet net zero targets
3 Jul 2023
Britain is planning to overhaul the country's planning system to make it easier to install overhead cables and pylons, to help the government reach its net zero targets.
UK police have new expanded powers to crack down on protests
3 Jul 2023
New and expanded powers for British police took effect on Sunday, including measures targeting activists who stop traffic and major building works with protests.
UK Climate Change Committee says country no longer a world leader
29 Jun 2023
Government backing for new oil and coal, airport expansion plans and slow progress on heat pumps show that the UK has lost its leadership on climate issues, a government watchdog warns.
More than 260 ‘overheating incidents’ in London hospitals
27 Jun 2023
UK Doctors warn of ‘dangerous consequences’ for patients and staff during extreme heatwaves, amid climate change fears.
Campaigners win right to challenge England’s food strategy
22 Jun 2023
Ministers broke the law by failing to make plans to cut consumption of meat and dairy in England, climate activists will argue in a legal challenge after they were granted permission for a full judicial review of the government’s food strategy.
Sudden heat increase in seas around UK and Ireland
21 Jun 2023
Some of the most intense marine heat increases on Earth have developed in seas around the UK and Ireland, the European Space Agency (Esa) says.
Britain pledges funding for carbon dioxide measurement project in Brazilian Amazon
26 May 2023
Britain has announced new funding for a landmark scientific experiment deep in Brazil's Amazon rainforest that will measure the impact of rising carbon dioxide levels on trees, the British embassy said.
UK sued over plan to import more polluting Australian beef
25 May 2023
Campaigners have challenged the UK government over its assessment of an imminent free trade agreement with Australia, which critics say ignored the full climate impact of meat farming and consumption.
‘Polite queuing’ will not decarbonise UK supergrid, says energy watchdog boss
18 May 2023
Britain will not achieve its ambition to decarbonise the electricity grid by the middle of the 2030s with the current system of “polite queuing”, the boss of energy watchdog Ofgem has said.
Greenwashing era is over, say ad agencies, as regulators get tough
17 May 2023
Across the advertising industry, agencies are wrestling with their role in greenwashing scandals and their support for clients driving the climate and nature crises.
BP invests in carbon capture project
12 Apr 2023
This week, Harbour Energy announced it is teaming up with British oil and gas multinational BP on the Viking carbon capture project in the UK.
UK Government backs first 20 green hydrogen projects
31 Mar 2023
Projects under development by Carlton Power, Octopus Hydrogen, ScottishPower, SSE Renewables and ERM Dolphyn are among those shortlisted for support under the UK Government’s electrolytic hydrogen scheme.
Some UK lawyers vow to not prosecute climate activists
27 Mar 2023
Leading UK lawyers say they will refuse to prosecute climate protesters or represent new fossil fuel projects.
Planting this could feed millions and lock away tons of carbon
23 Mar 2023
The world hungers for more food while wildlife yearns for untouched habitats. So goes the conflict between our seemingly insatiable need for agricultural land, razing forests to make way for cattle and crops.
Britain's Drax pauses $2.5 billion biomass carbon capture plans
23 Mar 2023
British power generator Drax will pause its planned 2 billion pound ($2.45 billion) UK investment in bioenergy with carbon capture and storage until it receives more clarity on government support, it said on Tuesday.
‘Dead’ electric car batteries find a second life powering cities
15 Mar 2023
Last month, a small warehouse in the English city of Nottingham received the crucial final components for a project that leverages the power of used EV batteries to create a new kind of circular economy.
South Korean decision to close all coal-fired power plants by 2040 sounds alarm for Australian exports
Today 11:30am
Decision announced at Cop30 climate conference signposts risks for Australia’s reliance on fossil fuel exports, analysts say.
Trump is said to propose opening California coast to oil drilling
Fri 14 Nov 2025
Gov. Gavin Newsom, a chief critic of the president and an opponent of oil exploration in the Pacific, called the proposal “dead on arrival.”
China’s carbon plateau: A turning point or a temporary pause?
Today 11:30am
For a quarter century, China has been the dominant driver of rising global carbon emissions. Its rapid industrialisation, swelling electricity demand, and unprecedented construction boom have shaped the world’s carbon trajectory more than any other country.
A crucial system of ocean currents may be on course to collapse. This country just declared it a national security threat
Mon 17 Nov 2025
As evidence mounts these currents could be on course for collapse, Iceland’s government has made the unusual move of designating the risk a national security threat.
The hidden dangers in Canada’s oil and gas ambitions
Tue 18 Nov 2025
Premier of Alberta Danielle Smith thinks global demand for oil will grow to 2050, perhaps beyond, and the Alberta industry will be viable for a hundred years.
South Korean growers sue state power utility, blaming climate change for crop damage
Mon 17 Nov 2025
Five South Korean farmers recently sued the state utility Korea Electric Power Corporation and its power-generating subsidiaries, alleging that their reliance on coal and other fossil fuels has accelerated climate change and damaged their crops.
Mystery heatwave warms Pacific Ocean to new record
21 Oct 2025
The waters of the north Pacific have had their warmest summer on record, according to BBC analysis of a mysterious marine heatwave that has confounded climate scientists.
Scientists discovered something alarming seeping out from beneath the ocean around Antarctica
13 Oct 2025
Planet-heating methane is escaping from cracks in the Antarctic seabed as the region warms, with new seeps being discovered at an “astonishing rate".
What do African countries want from COP30?
11 Nov 2025
At the UN climate summit, African negotiators are seeking more “debt-free” financing that would allow them to implement climate solutions – from adaptation to just transition.
Ecuador’s voters protect rights of nature, reject proposal to rewrite constitution
Today 11:30am
Ecuadorians handed their Trump-allied president a resounding defeat, choosing to maintain their “ecological constitution” and rejecting an attempt to allow foreign military bases in the country.
Brazil releases draft text and letter to accelerate COP30 climate negotiations
Today 11:30am
With a direct letter sent to nations and a draft text released Tuesday, host country Brazil is shifting the U.N. climate conference into a higher gear.
